Stars Guide Us Home
by SniperCT
Summary: Years of training. Years of sweat, blood, and tears, and now Commander Korra is finally leading a hand picked multinational team on the first manned mission to Mars. Asami Sato has spent half her life designing the Athena, coordinating with the brightest minds on Earth. Its an eighteen month mission, but a lot can happen in eighteen months...
1. Athena

**April, 2035 - T-minus 14 hours to launch.**

It was Asami's pride and joy. Nearly half her life had been spent working on this project. A child prodigy, the genius behind a multinational effort and her family had . She'd been there from the design stage, all the way through testing, and now she was preparing for the launch. It wasn't her first launch. Two years ago they'd sent an automated system to prepare the landing site. But this was it. This was the big mission. The important mission. If something went wrong, people would die.

It was a little like sending your baby to school, if your baby was a space ship and the lives of six human beings depended on everything functioning perfectly. She was running final inspections in the _Pallas_ lander, knuckles white and barely able to breathe. Excitement made the blood pound in her ears and nerves made her stomach twist into knots.

"Ms. Sato. Ms. Sato. _Asami_."

Her head jerked up from her umpteenth inspection of the lander. She focused on the tall Chinese woman peering into the vehicle. "What is it, Jia?"

"You know, you're not going to find anything by now." Jia drifted down the ladder. "Even though you're still going to keep looking right up until the launch."

"I want everything to go off without a hitch," she insisted. And so far everything had. All the parts had gotten launched into orbit on time and only a little over budget. The crew training had gone smoothly. And she'd trained right along with them. If she was going to have people working in her ship, she was going to experience the same training they did.

"About that."

Asami's head snapped around so quickly she started to spin. She caught herself on a console and stared fire at her co-worker. "Excuse me?"

"Zhu Li Moon was in a car accident. She's okay, but she fractured her collar bone."

"And if we delay the launch we'll miss our window. There's no way she'll heal in time." Asami kicked off the wall and sailed towards the ladder and climbed out. "Who do we have on standby?"

Jia followed. She didn't need to consult her clipboard, but she did anyway. "Opal Beifong, Eska, and Ahnah."

The ship was elongated, and while the design team and strived to make her beautiful, she still followed form over function. Three sections. A crew quarters, a research section, and a space that served like a living room. There were also zero-g exercise equipment spaced throughout the ship. Asami used one to propel herself along. "Eska won't accept without her brother."

"The men all made it. They're probably strapping in right now."

"Opal. She's the best choice to replace Zhu li." The airlock loomed ahead and she caught the lip. "And she paid better attention to the mechanics. Damn damn damn. We need someone besides Baatar on the technical side of things."

Asami had made it from ship to the space station and Jia still hadn't responded. She spun around. "Jia?"

"Opal declined the opportunity."

"Why in the world would she ever do that?" Asami would have jumped at the chance. She'd wasted hours arguing for a chance to go.

To her credit, Jia was blunt. "She's pregnant." Her eyes narrowed, and she put a hand on Asami's arm. "I already know what you're thinking. You already know the answer."

"We are _not_ missing that launch window, and we can't launch one person down." She kicked away down the hallway. She wanted to go, and not just because she'd dreamed of it since she was young. This was her ship, built by her team and her people. It wasn't right to risk the crew without being willing to put herself up to the danger too. "There isn't any other choice."

The station had been built before most of the crew had been born. It was a relic from another time, cramped and in places falling apart but it had been repurposed for the building and launch of the Mars mission. The hope for a renewed push for funding and exploration and a public excited about space again. The hope to prove that life on other worlds was possible and sustainable. Asami believed the future of the species depended on that.

Korra already felt excited. Wide blue eyes stared out the cockpit as the shuttle began it's final approach to the station. From this angle they had a fantastic view of the ship that would be their home for the next six months. Two hundred meters long, wider at the front and back than in the middle, with massive rockets for the initial launch. Nuclear electric engines would power most of the journey and Korra strained to see them as they flew past. She could make out _Athena_ in bold letters on the side.

"Six months there, four months on the ground, six months back."

She glanced at the man beside her, and gave him a cocky grin. "Chanting a mantra, Mako?"

"It's just kind of occurred to me. This is really happening. We're going to be gone a year and a half." His face fell into a frown. "I'm going to have a niece or nephew when I get back."

She decided to say nothing. Opal had told her first, and she knew it was something the other woman had wanted, but that was before Zhu Li's accident. And no one had told her who was going to replace her. It sure as hell wasn't anybody on the shuttle.

Tapping her finger on the console, she took the shuttle off automatic. "Gonna come in on manual."

"I'm not sure that's wise."

Turning in her seat, she shot Kuvira a look. "Maybe not, but it's going to be fun."

Taking the yolk, she swore she heard Mako mutter something about dying before he could even _meet_ his niece or nephew.

Asami was waiting as the shuttle docked. Her nerves had returned, but not for an entirely different set of reasons. She had to break the news to the crew just who was going with them. She was sure Mako wouldn't take it very well, but she was also worried about some of the others' reactions.

And seeing Korra again always left her feeling a flushed. Characteristically, Korra was the first one through the airlock. She shouted Asami's name and launched herself towards her. The two collided and Asami lost her sense of direction from how fast they were spinning. Korra's hugs were always tight and bear-like, and by the time they'd stopped their rotation, Asami was dizzy from more than the motion.

"I'm glad to see you too," she teased, extracting herself from the mission's commander so she could properly greet the rest of the crew. They looked good in blue and white jumpsuits, brand new patches on each shoulder. Country flag on the right, and mission patch on the left. A stylized shield with a silhouette of the ship over it and "Project Athena" around the circumference.

Korra composed herself and settled into the space next to Asami. This was her crew, her team. And she kind of hoped they didn't kill each other by the time the mission was over.

Kuvira and Baatar Jr were both mission specialists who's objective was to study the rocks and minerals they'd find on Mars. Korra had the most training and experience in extracting water and oxygen from soil. Jinora was the biologist, and youngest member of the crew. She'd just turned twenty a few weeks ago, but she was a genius in her field and Korra had insisted on recruiting her. Korra's didn't think there was any one more suited to confirming the discoveries from all those rovers that had been sent to Mars over the last twenty years than Jinora. And with both her and the girl's green thumb she'd have the hydroponics lab up and running in no time. The hardest part had been convincing her father.

Mako had been her first choice to be her second. He'd been trained to maintain the ship (and command it while the rest of the crew was on the ground) as back up for Zhu Li, though who was going to replace Zhu Li was up in the air. From the nervous tic of Asami's jaw, Korra thought she knew the answer.

"Welcome aboard! It's been too long since I last saw any of you. I've spent the past month meticulously going over the ship with a fine tooth comb."

"Sixteen times," Jia chimed in. Korra stifled a laugh.

"Your safety and the success of this mission is my primary concern," Asami continued. "I know you're wondering what's going to happen, with Zhu Li out of commission and Opal unable to make the launch. Eska declined the opportunity." She took a breath, glanced at Korra out of the corner of her eye, and said. "And since I'm the only other person with the technical expertise and the training, I will be taking Zhu Li's place. Jia will be head of mission control here at Earth in my stead."

Mako looked like he was sucking on a lemon, and she felt momentarily bad for her ex-boyfriend. They had parted on good terms, but could still get a little awkward. Baatar seemed a little peeved, but Jinora was vibrating in mid-air in her excitement. She couldn't read Kuvira at all.

Korra's arm snaked around her shoulder. "You realize this'll put you under me for this mission, don't you?"

Asami turned her head, her eyes meeting Korra's as she thought that under the other woman was exactly where she wanted to be. "I'll do what's best for this mission, Korra."

She turned back to the crew. "Launch is at 0930 tomorrow. I don't need to remind you how important this mission is. The things we can discover, and what we have to prove."

"Don't lie, you're as excited to go as the rest of us." Korra elbowed her lightly. "All right! Lets get our gear stowed on the ship, then our engineering specialist is going to give us the grand tour."

Jia floated nearby. She removed one pin from Asami's suit, and attached another. Asami nodded at her, and affixed her old pin to Jia's uniform. "The station is yours." She spun towards Korra. "And the mission is now yours, Commander."


	2. Escape Velocity

Day 1

"And you are go." The voice over the comms was calm. Jia was in her element and there was no one else that Asami would have trusted with seeing them off. "Cameras are good. We're getting the feed."

They'd placed cameras on all sides of the ship, hoping to catch anything that might be interesting or of use. It would also be handy in the event of damage to the craft. Right now, though, the rear cameras were centered on Earth as the planet grew smaller and smaller.

They would be accelerating for several more hours, and Asami had her eye torn between the view of Earth, and various readouts from the engines. Other than Zhu Li, she knew them the best, and they were humming along really nicely.

Faced with the prospect of hours of silence while strapped into her seat, Korra swiveled a screen around and put on some music. "You know, this is the ultimate road trip. I hope everyone has something to keep themselves entertained."

"We should stop and pick up some beef jerky," Mako said. Korra glanced at him. His face was expressionless, but had Mr. Serious just cracked a joke?

"Yeah. I'll pull over at the next gas station. We can stock up."

At the seven hour mark, a light started blinking in the cockpit. Asami pressed a button next to it, then spoke into the comm systems. "The time is 1623 UTC. We've just gone farther than any human ever has from Earth and we're officially outside the orbit of the moon."

It was like lapping the earth ten times, and with every passing second they'd be going farther and farther away. Korra felt a momentary twinge of coldness in her chest. Only machines had gone farther than this. New territory, new frontiers. She looked up at the view of Earth, so small, and so fragile. She didn't bother to blink away the tears.

Jinora was the only one to speak. "We leave the familiar behind and step out into the unknown."

Day 13

It was something Korra hadn't expected and probably the one thing she _should_ have. Boredom. She kept herself busy, running system checks, exercising, and playing games with Mako and Asami. There were also dozens of experiments to run, and many more that would be done while en route to Mars. But even with that, she quickly ran out of things to do that didn't require waiting. Most of her skills wouldn't even be that useful until they got to Mars. After the third time in as many hours Jinora shooed her out of the bio lab, she floated towards the stern, using omnipresent cargo webbing to pull herself along. She found Asami near the reactor. The woman was nestled into a little gap between two bulkheads.

"I take it we're not leaking?"

Asami jumped, startled, and looked up at Korra. "Oh! No. It's shielded, we're safe. Stellar radiation is more of a danger."

There was room enough for two, so Korra slipped in next to her. She'd always liked Asami. She'd completely misjudged her the first time they'd met and Asami had repeatedly proven to be a capable woman. And _amazing_ on a motorcycle. Korra was willing to call her a friend and she liked to think Asami felt the same way. "I saw you arguing with your dad earlier. Everything okay?"

Their hands brushed, and Asami took a moment to respond. "I didn't consult him before stepping in. He doesn't understand that I'm an adult and I have been for a long time now. I think he's just worried. We're far from home, and a rescue would be….difficult."

There were some backups and contingencies, but the only way a rescue could work would be if they were already on Mars and able to sustain themselves long enough for another ship to get them. If something went wrong in the middle of space on a slingshot course around the sun they'd have to fix it on their own.

Korra put her hand over Asami's and squeezed lightly. "I trust you. I trust the ship you built and I'm really glad you're here. You and Zhu Li know the workings better than anyone else. And honestly the less we have to listen to Varrick talk, the better. We're making such good time, we'll be there in sooner than we thought."

Heat rose to Asami's face. Korra's hair floated around her head like a halo and it was suddenly difficult to not imagine kissing her. "I'm glad to know I rate better than Varrick."

"He gets the job done and we _are_ following his course," Korra admitted. She realized she was still holding Asami's hand and let go.

"The man is brilliant, I'll give him that." Pulling her hand back, Asami wrapped her arms around herself. She bumped her shoulder against Korra's, the Japanese flag on her shoulder pressing into the mission patch on Korra's. "I'm glad you took it well."

"Are you kidding? Even Kuvira thinks it's a great idea, and she doesn't like disruptions to the routine."

Kuvira was intimidating, but good at what she did. It did give her an observation. "Except for Jinora, I'm the only civilian on board, ace."

Korra grinned, crooked and wide, but a shadow passed across her eyes. "Yeah. We're all hotshots in one degree or another. But I like flying _Athena_, and the shuttles. Just between you and me, it's nice flying something that's not designed to kill people."

"There isn't much flying to _do_. It's mostly programmed." If it was possible, Asami liked Korra even more at that admission. The fighter pilot thing was actually a huge turn on for her, but she liked that Korra hated the part that involved hurting people.

"Don't ruin my self-delusion."

Day 34

The nut sailed through the air with the greatest of ease. Mako spun himself at just the right moment and caught it in his mouth. Asami laughed, and threw another one. She banked it off the bulkhead before it hit him in the nose.

It was impossible to avoid anyone on the ship. Asami and Mako had spent a few days being awkward around each other until Korra had literally ordered them into the lander to talk it out. A month later and Asami could barely remember a time when she and Mako hadn't been speaking to each other. It felt so good having him back as her friend.

"Hey Mako. Whatever happened between you and Korra?"

He nearly choked on a nut. "I'm sorry?"

Asami flushed, turning her attention towards a viewport. "Didn't you two date? After we broke up."

Mako's eyebrow twitched. He was trapped in a flying tin can forty-five million kilometers from Earth and his ex-girlfriend was asking him about his other ex-girlfriend. There was no safe place to go. There was no escape.

"Nevermind, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's okay. We did date for a few months. It was uhm." He popped another nut into his mouth while he searched for the right word. There was a little wistful note in his voice. "Explosive."

Explosive and Korra certainly seemed to fit. Even with military discipline she still fit the stereotype of the fighter pilot that she was. The thought brought a smile to Asami's lips. She drifted closer to Mako, and gave him a tight hug. "She's really wonderful, isn't she. Even if she's explosive."

"The explosive got exhausting." Mako squeezed back, lightly. "I'm a lot happier with where we stand now. You and me, me and her. I really admire you both. This mission wouldn't be happening without either of you."

Asami's smile widened. She planted a kiss on his cheek. "You're sweet, you know that?"

"Just don't tell Korra or my brother. I have a reputation to maintain."

Day 72

Kuvira obsessed over the mission to a degree that was almost unhealthy, and butted heads with Korra constantly. It hadn't been like this during the training and if it had Asami might have reconsidered the woman's suitability for the mission.

That Kuvira and Korra didn't get along was an understatement. It was as though the other woman had a chip on her shoulder where the Commander was concerned. She constantly tried to undermine her, questioned her orders and even tried to go over her head to Mission Control. Twice.

On the plus side, the waste management systems practically sparkled. Korra took extra special delight in assigning Kuvira the _Athena_ versions of KP duty every time she stepped out of line.

But some days Korra wanted to punch Kuvira. Her jaw was tight and she forced her hand to relax as she stared Kuvira down. "Would you like to _repeat_ that?"

"You're only on board because Sato wanted you. I should have been given command."

It was the definition of 'hand-picked crew', but Korra chose to not engage the obvious bait. "How many flight hours did you have before this mission."

Kuvira's jaw tightened. "Unlike some people I earned my place."

"Two hundred. You had two hundred flight hours. I had three thousand, _and_ space experience."

"_I_ was not shot _down_."

Korra saw red, and the next thing she knew she had slammed Kuvira into the bulkhead. "You _don't_ want to go there."

Kuvira's face was inches from Korra's, and she could see the anger raging within her eyes. "You are a liability."

Someone caught Korra's elbow just before she could take a swing at Kuvira. Mako pulled her away. "Jinora needs you to review her work, Commander."

"Thanks, Mako." Korra didn't give Kuvira another look before rocketing across the ship and away from her.

Mako watched her go, then turned to Kuvira. "You're on thin ice."

"I'm only looking out for the safety of the crew." Kuvira sailed past him, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Day 99

Asami got along with Jinora really well, and would sometimes have long conversations late at night on a variety of topics. The young woman was very intelligent and seemed wise beyond her years, and Asami honed in on that, remember how lonely she'd been at that age.

Kuvira and Baatar generally kept to themselves. The crew getting physical was expected. Even planned for, though Asami didn't know what Kuvira saw in Baatar, but sometimes she felt as though Korra and Kuvira were one screaming match from either killing each other or ripping each others' clothing off. Just thinking about the latter scenario made Asami want to scream.

After yet another argument, Asami pulled Korra into another section of the ship, as far from Kuvira as she could manage. "Calm down."

"Calm down? She's trying to find every reason she can to question my authority." Korra raked her fingers through her hair. "How am I going to make it to Mars without throwing her out an airlock? Or hitting her? This is the second time someone had to stop me from hitting her."

Korra's arms were bare, the top half of her jumpsuit tied around her waist and Asami hesitated just a moment before putting her hands on her shoulders. "I'll talk to her. There's a chain of command and she needs to follow it."

"That's the chain I get to beat her with until she remembers who's in command, right?"

Sighing, Asami rubbed Korra's arms. "Why don't we work some of that irritation off and spar."

"Spar?" Korra tilted her head. "In zero-g?"

"Afraid I'm going to hand you your ass on a silver platter?" Asami pushed off of Korra and started to shrug out of her own jumpsuit. She almost thought she saw Korra's throat bob as she freed her legs and floated in a white tank top and red shorts.

Realizing she was staring, Korra pushed her jumpsuit down. She had on a similar tank top to Asami, but her shorts were blue. When she playfully flexed her arms, Asami sent a little prayer of thanks to whatever god or goddess had seen fit to grace the universe with Korra.

Korra lifted her fists, but couldn't figure out what to do with her feet. She couldn't get into any kind of stance. Asami laughed, then twisted her body into a spin kick that her sparring partner was almost too mesmerized to block. Korra brought her arms up at the last second and found herself knocked into the wall. Using the bulkhead as leverage, she shot like a bullet at Asami, grappling with her for several seconds before they broke free and drifted apart. It turned into a kind of dance as they traded blows and got a feel for fighting in zero-g. Asami's body moved differently, but she quickly adapted to a sort of flying style of combat. Grapples and using bulkheads to control movement became the most obvious and effective tactics.

It was a lot of fun for Korra, too. She was figuring out new ways to use her body, and it felt like she and Asami were starting to move in synch. It was challenging at first, but before long she'd adapted too. Korra forgot why she'd needed this. Only that she needed it and that she didn't want to do this with anyone but Asami.

Asami somehow got behind her, but Korra used that to her advantage, twisting and wrapping her legs around her opponent. Grabbing onto the webbing that ran throughout the ship, Korra pinned Asami against the bulkhead with her body. She panted for breath, grinning at her friend and basking in the glow of her victory.

Asami thunked her head back against the metal and slid her arms around Korra's torso. She couldn't guess at the expression in Korra's eyes, or maybe she didn't want to be seeing something that wasn't there. Her face was so close, too close, and Korra's body was sliding into place against her own like the last missing piece of a puzzle. Every time either of them breathed, Asami felt a surge of pure want shoot straight through her.

Before Korra really knew what she was doing, she started to move her head forward.

"Commander?" Jinora's voice reached them from somewhere nearby, and Korra jerked away so fast that she somersaulted. She caught herself in some webbing.

"Yeah?"

"I could use your help with something."

Korra shot Asami an apologetic look. " Asami and I were sparring. Give me a minute to clean up, and I'll be right there."

Asami watched her float away, then squeezed her eyes shut and thunked her head against the bulkhead a half-dozen times, just for good measure.


	3. Timeless Ocean

Day 109

With her eyes closed, Korra couldn't tell which way was up. She was pretty sure she was hanging upside down relative to the orientation of the ship. But it didn't feel like she was upside down. With privacy at a premium, she had to find places to get some time to herself and had retreated to the lander. She put some headphones on to lose herself in music.

Someone cleared their throat and she opened her eyes to see Mako hovering upside down in front of her. At least from her perspective. "Hey Mako." She tugged the earphones off and oriented herself to him. "What is it?"

"Just waiting on diagnostics to run. But I've been wondering. Are you okay?"

She gave him a puzzled look. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seemed a little stiff during the landing simulation yesterday."

"I was on point."

"You were robotic."

"Isn't that what we need to be?" Korra snapped. She folded her arms, her brow furrowing. "What the hell is your problem?"

"I don't _have_ a problem!" Mako resisted the urge to tear at his hair. "I'm just concerned. And if I've noticed it, then Kuvira has."

"She's behaved herself." Korra dropped her hands to her side. "Whatever Asami said to her worked. Asami is pretty good with people."

Mako frowned, his expression shifting from irritation to confusion. "Asami is good at a lot of things. You two are usually pretty in sync. But not yesterday."

"Maybe it was an off day. We'll have to do better. We can't afford an off day when the real landing happens." Korra shrugged, then pulled herself towards the hatch.

"Korra, what the hell is going on with you two?"

She paused, looking back at him. "What?"

The man just shrugged heavily, his eyebrows rising into his hair. "It's like you've been avoiding each other for days now. Did you have a fight?

"Nothing like that." Korra felt herself flushing hotly, and she shot out of the hatch like a cannonball.

"Just… talk to her?" Mako stared at the space she'd just been in and sighed.

Day 118

"Someone needs to go out there." Kuvira peered at the readout. An alarm ran along the starboard side of _Athena_.

"It could have been an impact."

"Whatever it was, we need to get a look at it and the camera isn't angled right to really get a look. We can't risk deceleration until we know if it's safe." Kuvira glanced towards Korra. "Commander, you've had the most spacewalk time, you should go."

"First of all, I'm the Commander, and I'll make the suggestions on who's going," Korra said. She held up two fingers. "Second of all, I'll be-"

"I'll go." Asami put her hand on Korra's shoulder.

Baatar's expression soured. "I really think it should be the commander."

"I really think it should be the commander too," Korra said, a little dourly.

"I built this ship." Asami squeezed Korra's shoulder lightly. "And if something is really damaged I'm the best equipped to repair it. I'll be fine. I've always wanted to space walk, anyway."

Korra's lips started to turn into a pout before she caught herself.

"You shouldn't disobey orders from the commander." Kuvira's voice was neutral, but Asami recognized the glint in her eyes. She'd used similar words when talking to the woman about her attitude.

"Asami is right. Suit up, Ms. Sato." Korra put her hand over the top of Asami's and squeezed once.

Asami smiled, and it was the most relaxed smile she'd given Korra in two weeks. "Thank you."

The spacesuits were sleek. They were white with colored highlights along the seams. A team had spent years refining designs that had come out of MIT and Asami had tried to personalize the suits to an extent. Blue highlights for Korra. Green for Kuvira and Baatar. Yellow for Jinora. Zhu Li's had been a purple highlight, but Asami had swapped in a red suit since she was taller. She ran her fingers across the material, before carefully setting it aside and stripping down. Pulling it on was easy enough, and then it was a matter of locking coils in place, which generated an electrical current that forced the suit to conform to her body's shape. Most importantly, this counter-pressure would protect her from the vacuum, and the material was heated to keep her warm.

She was picking up the helmet when she sensed a presence nearby. She turned in the air, wondering how long Korra had been there. From the blush on her cheeks, it might have been just long enough.

"Asami…" She rubbed her hand on the side of her neck. "When you're done, I… we really need to talk."

Asami's heart thudded in her chest. "Okay." She wanted it to be okay. She needed it to be okay with Korra. She lifted the helmet. "Help me with this?"

"Of course. You look… well you look really snazzy in it."

It took another ten minutes before Korra was satisfied that Asami's suit was secure. And then it seemed to be an eternity as the airlock cycled. But then the hatch slid open, and Asami was greeted with her first unobstructed view of space. A field of stars seemed to stretch on for eternity and Asami spent a full minute staring, her breath in her ears the only sound.

Regaining her sense of self, she pulled herself out of the airlock and floated towards the bow of the _Athena_. She paused once, to look back out. She could almost reach out to the points of light. Though they were moving at over fifty-five thousand kilometers per hour (A number difficult to really put into words, even for her), it was impossible to tell from here. Asami felt as though she and the ship were suspended in a timeless ocean.

"What's it feel like?"

Korra's voice intruded into Asami's sense of self, and she realized she'd been staring again. "It's…"

"It's okay, it's just me on the channel right now."

"God, Korra. I feel so _small_."

"Maybe we're small, but we matter, right? Maybe that's our purpose, to make sense of all of this."

Asami forced herself to turn back to the task at hand. Korra was making her emotional and the last thing she needed was to fog up her helmet. "Okay. I'm okay. You can put me on the speakers. I'm almost to the damaged section."

"Roger."

At first, Asami couldn't tell if there was any damage. She leaned closer, scouring the hull for any cracks or fractures, and after about five minutes she found it. "I see something. Looks like a fracture in the outer hull. It hasn't penetrated very far yet."

"Can you seal it?"

"Easily." There was something off about it, and Asami's mind latched onto the irregularities like a blood hound. Before she pulled out the welder, she snapped pictures from several angles, and then stowed the camera back on her belt. "Okay. I'm going to weld the fracture."

She flicked the torch on, carefully moving it over the fracture until it looked like it was sealed. "What's the readout say?"

Kuvira's voice responded. "Alarms cleared."

"Perfect." Korra's smile came through in her voice, and Asami found herself responding to it with one of her own. She took one last look at the weld, before turning around to return to the airlock. In a little over thirty days, they'd be on Mars, and Korra would be the first human being to step foot on another planet. Asami couldn't wait.

Day 151

Asami asleep was something else, Korra decided. She always looked so perfect. Nearly a hundred million kilometers from Earth and her make-up game was still on point.

But asleep, worries and cares floated away. Korra understood what that felt like. There was a lot of pressure on the both of them. Asami's ship, and Korra's leadership. If something went wrong, even if it wasn't either of their faults, they'd still blame themselves.

She waved some hair away from Asami's face. Neither of them had gotten much sleep lately. The whole crew was busy with preparations for the landing. To make matters worse, there had been a half-dozen more fractures to repair and every one of the crew had gotten spacewalk time.

There'd been a terrifying moment when Korra's suit had failed just before the airlock had finished cycling. Asami blamed herself for not checking the suit out better, and Korra had ordered the entire crew to rest. Enforced R&amp;R, for a full twenty-four hours.

Which had led to Asami curled against her in the little nook by the engines, and Korra having much too much time to think about the way her head fit into the crook of her neck. It was silent save Asami's breathing and the gentle thrum from the reactor. Korra hesitated, then started to rub at Asami's back, kneading at muscles she knew were sore.

Asami groaned softly, slowly squirming against her and Korra was starkly reminded of what had almost happened when they'd sparred. Asami's lips were parted and it was impossible not to imagine kissing them. Therein lay the problem. They'd mutually agreed to put the mission first, but now that Korra was actively thinking about it, she couldn't shake her attraction. From the looks Asami kept giving her when she thought Korra wasn't looking, that feeling was shared. But she was patient. At least she kept telling herself that.

"Mmm. Korra. I don't know if I should tell you to stop or not." Asami's leg wrapped around her waist as Korra's hand massaged lower.

Korra pressed her lips against Asami's cheek, then moved them towards her ear. "We've been really stressed, let me do this for you."

"Stress… Stress fractures." She felt Asami tense him against her. "We've had so many. Korra, we used the best materials we could find, and you don't even want to know how many man hours the team put into construction. Maybe one fracture per thousand simulations, but we've had so many..."

"Asami. We're still on R&amp;R time." Korra twisted them around, until Asami was facing away from her. She pressed her thumbs into knots between the other woman's shoulders and was rewarded with a sound that was almost sexual.

"I know. I know...oh god…" Asami's eyes fluttered shut and she moved her head forward to give Korra better access to the back of her neck. "It's just… I can't turn my mind off. I keep thinking about it. Nothing adds up. And then your _suit_..."

"We're in the clear right now. There's nothing we can do but monitor the situation. And we're almost there. In twelve days we'll be on the surface of Mars!" Giddiness threatened to consume her. She moved her knuckles down Asami's back. All that was left was spinning the ship around and firing the engines to slow them down and put them in orbit.

"You believe me, right?" Asami twisted her shoulders and head to look at Korra. "If I told you we had to abort, you'd believe me?"

"Yes." She answered immediately. "Do you think we need to?"

Asami shook her head. "No. I just… wanted to be sure. I need you to trust me, because I trust you." She turned back around, arms wrapping around Korra's shoulders. "Korra. First human on /mars. I'm so happy that it's going to be you."

"I want you to be the second. People still remember Buzz Aldrin."

"It's an exclusive club, people who've stepped foot on another world," Asami told her. She brought her fingers up, tracing them along Korra's jaw. "Twelve Apollo astronauts on the moon. Another six in the past twelve years. But if we can prove long term sustainability, that club will start growing. That's my plan, that's the long term mission. Ten next time. Then a hundred. A thousand. We won't be bound to Earth anymore, and we'll stand a chance as a species. We'll have a _colony_." Asami's voice fell to a whisper, her eyes watering. "And I'll name it after you, so you'll always be remembered."

It was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. Korra's hand tangled in Asami's hair as she suddenly surged forward, catching Asami's lips with her own. Asami pressed against her until Korra felt her back against the bulkhead. Korra moaned unexpectedly, and Asami moved her head. Her breath was hot in Korra's ears.

"Remember what we discussed?"

"Mission first?" Korra struggled to slow her breathing.

Asami laughed breathlessly. "I think I want to renegotiate."

Laughter bubbled up out of Korra's throat, and she hugged Asami against her until she could stop. Then she cupped her face. "This okay?"

"Mmm."

She kissed Asami's neck. "This?"

"Yes…"

Her hand started to unzip Asami's jumper. "This?"

"Korra?"

She looked up into Asami's eyes. "Should I stop?"

Asami pulled Korra's head back up, kissing her heatedly, before turning her head and whispering a few choice words in her ear.

Korra unzipped Asami so fast she broke the zipper.


	4. Inertia

**Day 161**

_Okay Korra. You've practiced this a thousand times. It's not like one mistake will kill us._ "Everyone secure, Mako?"

Her second floated from seat to seat. Starting in the back row with Kuvira and Baatar, then moving forward to Asami and Jinora. Their straps looked good and suits were sealed. He got a thumbs up from each in turn. He settled into his seat next to the Commander and strapped himself in. "We're all good."

Korra flicked several switches in a row, then put her hand over a button. "Firing thrusters in three, two, one."

She pressed the button. Thrusters on the port side of the _Athena_'s bow fired in three short bursts. Simultaneously, thrusters on the starboard side at the rear of the craft fired. It was a slow turn with barely any inertia, and Korra had to fight back impatience. Slow and steady was really the only way.

"Twenty degrees," Baatar announced. "Twenty-five, Commander. Another burst should be enough."

"Asami? How are we holding up?"

Asami held a tablet in her hand, and thumbed through the readout. "We're doing fine."

Korra counted down and hit the button again. This time she could feel the inertia. At fifty degrees, she switched the thrusters around and hit them twice more, stabilizing the orientation of the ship. "Firing engines, five second burst to course correct. Now."

She hit the throttle, and for ten seconds the ship thrummed. When the burst ended, the _Athena_'s course had adjusted. All they needed to do was slow down to the right speed and they'd enter Martian orbit. "Baatar?"

"We're on course, it's safe to resume turning us around."

"Firing thrusters, six second burst."

Without friction, the ship continued to move on its course, even as it slowly turned around. After several minutes, Korra hit the opposite thrusters until the ship stopped turning.

"We're perfectly aligned, Commander." Kuvira's voice was neutral, but Korra felt a keen rush of satisfaction at pulling off a perfect reorientation.

"We're ready for deceleration." Baatar programmed something into his console. "With the enhancements we've done to the program we should use less fuel, which will give us some wiggle room for the return trip."

"Perfect," Korra said. She studied her readout carefully, then entered in her code. "Program started. Engines should fire right on time."

From her angle, Asami could see how bright Korra's eyes were, reflected in the visor of her helmet. She looked so giddy, so ecstatic. Just a few days in orbit and for final checks on the lander, and they'll be on the surface.

The engines fired right on schedule, and Asami was pushed back into her seat. They let off after two minutes. "That was the first burst. Two more and we'll be on target."

The second burst occurred five minutes later, and the third five minutes after that. Kuvira unstrapped herself and moved forward in the cockpit. She wanted a better view of the planet. "We're in orbit." She put a hand on Korra's shoulder, and begrudgingly said. "Congratulations Commander. We did it."

Korra glanced at the other woman, and gave her a smile. Maybe they could actually learn to work together.

Within hours, _Athena_ was buzzing with activity. Final system checks on the _Pallas_ lander, setting the clock for the descent, establishing communications with the base on the ground. That was of particular concern. It was one thing to get all clears sent to Earth, it was something else to actually be in Orbit and confirming that the robots had followed their programming. The lander had the last of the vital supplies (as well as an extra vehicle that crew called the Buggy) but if the base was missing something important, it would all be for naught.

"What if they didn't finish something? Or got stuck?" Jinora asked.

"We've planned for that. The entire structure is modular. As long as each module is intact, we can put it together ourselves if we have to. But we shouldn't have to."

"One miscalculation and that will be a lot of extra work for us." Kuvira planted her hands on her console, palms splaying out. "So I hope that you are right."

Asami bristled. "The robotics team is the best in the world. Everyone involved in this project are experts, and the best in their fields."

"I still wonder why anyone trusted a fifteen year old with anything," Kuvira continued. She wasn't looking directly at Asami. Instead, her eyes were on Korra. "Let alone a project of this magnitude."

Steel entered Asami's tone. "I've spent fifteen years on this project, Kuvira. Half my life. Longer than you, longer than anyone else, even my own father. I didn't do it alone. God knows I couldn't have without a team of thousands, but we've just traveled a hundred million kilometers to another world and made it here alive. I'd say that trust is warranted, don't you? In me, in all those people who've poured years of their lives into getting us here? In all of us?"

Korra had been about to intervene, but she'd stopped when she'd heard the tone in Asami's voice. She stared at the other woman, unable to keep the grin off of her face. Asami had defended herself, and she had to get everyone focused back on the mission. She wouldn't let herself be baited. "We're all in this together and we really don't have time for this if we don't want to wait for another orbit before descent. Baatar?"

"Lander is good to go. All systems are nominal. We're ready to begin descent as soon as we pass over the base. Which will be 73 minutes at my mark. Mark."

"Clock set." Jinora gave Asami a little high five, before she disappeared into the biology lab. She had a few last checks she wanted to do (and a mile of instructions to leave for Mako), before she could strap herself into the lander.

"I'm sorry you can't go down with us," Korra said, putting her hands on Mako's shoulders.

He smiled at her. "Someone has to mind the ship. I knew that when I signed up. Maybe next time."

"Definitely next time." Korra gave him a hug, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment before pulling away. "And there will be a next time, and I don't know who I have to threaten to be able to come back."

"Come back and stay longer."

Grinning, Korra pushed away from him, rotating gracefully in the air as she floated through the cabin. Asami was drifting towards the lander, fixing her helmet to her suit. Korra snuck closer, and pinched her on the rear.

Startled, Asami twirled around, but her expression immediately softened when she saw it was Korra. Despite that, she tried to be stern. "Not where others can see."

"Come on, everybody knows. Its not like its possible to hide it."

They hadn't really _talked_ about it. Asami knew what she wanted with Korra, she just couldn't voice it to her yet. "I know, but we should _attempt_ professional decorum. I don't need Mako calling me a sneaky bisexual again." Asami's stern-face collapsed in the face of Korra's laughter. She tapped her finger on her forehead. "Get your helmet on, we need to be strapped in and ready to go."

"I'm the one thats supposed to give the orders," she reminded her.

Asami removed her helmet, leaning in and kissing Korra lightly on the nose. "Then order yourself to strap in, _Commander_."

Korra floated there, flustered, as Asami reaffixed her helmet. She jutted out her lower jaw, and reached for her own.

A loud banging sound rang through the cabin. Alarms blared and Korra rocketed to the cockpit. Multiple fractures flashed red on the readouts and the air hissed. She locked her helmet into place, then she yelled into the ship-wide intercomm. "The hull is compromised! Pressure is dropping rapidly. Get your helmets on!"

Any other orders she'd have given were lost in the screaming of tearing metal and shattering glass, and a familiar _boom_ that rattled through the ship. Korra lost her grip on the communications console. The world spun around her and at the last second she grabbed onto a loose strap from a seat. Looking towards her feet, she could see the Red Planet suspended in space, a body floating away. She couldn't tell who it was. The view shifted as the _Athena_ began to tear itself apart.

Korra's strap started to tear, and just as it snapped a hand grabbed onto hers. Mako strained to hold onto her, eyes growing more and more bloodshot as the seconds rushed by. Using his arm like a rope, Korra pulled herself back into the ship. A timer counted down in her head, and she exhaled every last bit of air from her lungs before popping her helmet and fixing it to Mako's suit. The ship rumbled and shook as Korra struggled to drag her unconscious friend towards the lander. Hands grabbed for them and someone locked a helmet into place. She inhaled deeply and greedily. The last thing Korra saw before unconsciousness claimed her was the twisted wreckage of the ship as they fell away from it.


	5. Magnificent Desolation

** Sea of Japan - Eight Years Ago**

Everything had deteriorated quickly. Rising sea levels, and a series of devastating storms all along the Pacific Rim had fed into nationalistic agendas. And then the water shortages had come, years sooner than anticipated.

Borders all around the world had become overrun by refugees escaping arid droughts. Water crisis turned into water wars and nation by nation the world caught fire until no one really remembered who'd fired the first shots.

Peace was finally on the horizon. There was even talk of a multinational space mission. Something to heal the wounds and maybe find new ways to apply technology to help the world. Korra had plans to try out if all that went through.

"Okay Eagles. Keep your eyes and ears open. Just because there are peace talks going on doesn't mean that someone won't have an itchy trigger finger." Korra listed to the affirmatives come over the radio as she slowly brought her fighter around and into their patrol route.

Her squadron was flying the first production models of the new F-38 _Snow Leopard_, sleek, fast and maneuverable, and equipped with some of the latest technologies. An electronic and cyber attack suite, air defense systems and self-protection, directed energy weapons and a self-repair system. For all the advanced systems in the aircraft, Korra still preferred the older vulcan cannon and air to air missiles. She'd achieved two kills just a few weeks ago with both. It was only her exceptional skill that had her in command of the squadron at just twenty-one. It was that skill that she hoped would lead her right into that space program.

"Leaf, picking up some bogeys running parallel to us just on the other side of the peace zone. Ten of them."

"Roger that, Wolfbat. They're shadowing us, but as long as we stay on our side and they stay on theirs we'll be fine."

"Where even did you get that call sign, Lieutenant?"

Korra groaned. "Long story, Tahno, get me drunk enough and maybe I'll tell it."

"_Be the leaf_." Another voice cut in. "We were on leave, right? Just out of flight school and visiting some friends of Korra's family."

Korra decided she was going to strangle Bolin. "Ferret, if you continue that story you're going to be peeling potatoes for the rest of this war and the next."

"Can we concentrate on the job, guys?"

She didn't fight the grin that popped onto her face at the sound of Mako's voice. "Sharkbrows is right. Everyone pipe down."

"It's Thunderbolt, damn it."

Korra grinned to herself as everyone went quiet.

Alarm systems started blaring a few moments later. Bolin broke the radio silence. "Bogeys crossing the peace zone, they're locking onto us!"

"Engage scramblers and enter into evasive patterns, but hold your fire until my order!" Korra flicked a switch and turned a dial, even as she rolled towards the oncoming enemy.

"They're in our territory. Guess those peace talks broke down."

"Cust the chatter, pick a target. Stick to your wingman." Korra flicked the covers off of her triggers. "Weapons free!"

The next several seconds went by in a blur. Wingmen calling target locks and missiles racing off into the distance. Korra's heart pounded in her ears. She banked hard as an enemy missile came in, releasing flares and trying to jam its sensors. Barely registering that one of her missiles had hit a target, she focused instead on not becoming a target herself.

The missile dropped off, and Mako's fighter fell in besides hers. "I've got your back."

Targets locked, Korra pulled her fighter into a tight loop, ending up behind one enemy jet. Her finger pulled the trigger and a line of bullets cut neatly through the fuselage. The jet dove sharply, and she couldn't tell if the pilot was able to eject.

Tahno's laugh grated in her ears. "Two more for Leaf and she makes ace."

"That's still three more than you," Korra retorted.

There were still nearly a half-dozen fighters to deal with. Korra put her game face back on and zeroed in on one. The pilot was flying erratically, trying to evade missile lock. Korra decided she wanted to see what this new directed energy weapon did. She pressed a different trigger and a pulsing thrum rocked through her fighter. Red heat blossomed on her target's fuel tank just seconds before the plane exploded. She twisted up and to the left to avoid the debris. "Shit!"

A hail of bullets shot past her and she checked her six. A bogey had settled in behind her. Korra went full throttle, pushing her stick forward until she was shooting straight for the ocean. She pulled up at the last second, streaking along the coast. The enemy was still on her tail as she turned inland. Korra remained just above the treeline, weaving through hills and canyons as the other fighter remained doggedly on her tail.

"Sharkbrows where the fuck are you?!" Korra glanced behind her. "Whoever you are, you're good."

But not good enough. Narrowly avoiding a mountaintop, Korra pulled up, rolling scissors to keep missiles from locking on. The roar of the engine and blood in Korra's ears drowned out all other sound.

"I've always wanted to do this." Korra disengaged several controls, then yanked sharply on her stick while simultaneously cutting thrust. The jet pitched sharply up, nearly stalling out, but the enemy fighter shot past her. She pushed the throttle so hard her hand started to hurt, but leveled out. Korra had the target in her sights. She pulled the trigger, bullets ripping through the other jet and sending it spiraling out of control.

A rapidly beeping alarm made Korra's head snap to a readout. A surface to air missile had locked onto her. With barely any time to react, Korra punched out. The canopy blasted off above her head, and then she was slammed back into her seat as it ejected her out of her aircraft.

The boom of explosion was deafening, and the shockwave's impact knocked her out.

Hours later, Korra woke, a sharp pain in her shoulders and her wrists raw from the shackles she found herself bound to a chair by. She lifted her eyes to meet those of her captor, but a blow to her head knocked her over. Korra hit the ground, tasting blood in her mouth. She resolved to remain silent.

It took three days for them to get a word out of her. Two, in fact.

_"Fuck you."_

**Mars - Day 161**

Emergency lights flashed. The lander shook and shuddered and Asami did her best to level their descent. She didn't know Mako's condition, and Korra kept drifting in and out of consciousness. Bataar hadn't made it to the lander, so it was just her and Kuvira trying to control the lander. They needed the thrusters to change their angle of entry or they were all going to die.

"Come on…" She flicked at the switches, but every time it was the same thing. Nothing. She'd checked it just a few hours ago and it had been find then. She needed to bypass the ignition. G-forces were keeping her locked into her seat so Asami forced herself forward, opening the console in front of her and pulling out some wires.

Three seconds and a spark later, the thrusters fired. Everyone inside slammed against their restraints as the thrusters altered their angle and reduced their speed before the burst ended. The wind knocked from her lungs, Asami gasped. "Heat shield status?"

Kuvira's voice was even. Calm and completely flat, as though the loss of Baatar wasn't affecting her. She'd locked away her emotions to focus on the task at hand. "Holding. It's slowing us down but we're still too fast for parachute. We need to fire the thrusters again."

Asami's jaw tightened. If they used up all their fuel on entry they'd never be able to take off again. But that wouldn't matter if they were a smear on the martian surface.

"Do it." Korra's raspy voice surprised Asami. "Use the thrusters to slow us down. We can attempt to make more fuel once we're down there."

Closing her eyes, Asami touched the wires together again. The bruises they were going to have from their straps was better than the alternative. The G-forces were almost too much. Her chest ached and she had to breathe in short, rapid gasps just to be able to inhale. She couldn't spare the energy to look at any of the others, and just prayed that Mako wasn't suffocating.

The thrusters cut off just as her vision started to tunnel, and Asami could breathe again. "We've...we're at point 5 kps." She took a few deep breaths and was about to suggest that Kuvira take control when Korra spoke.

"Taking manual control."

"Korra.."

"I've got this, we still need to adjust our trajectory. How is Mako?"

Jinora leaned over to check on him. She watched his breath fog on his visor. "He's breathing."

There wasn't time to have Jinora check over Korra, so Asami routed the controls to Kuvira anyway.

"Sato, what are you doing?"

She winced at the betrayal in Korra's voice. "You still need some time to recover. At least a few more minutes, and we don't have that luxury. I'm sorry."

"We're talking about this later," Korra muttered. First she wrecked the _Athena_ and now she didn't even get to fly her lander.

"Disaster recovery first," Jinora interjected. "We're going to undershoot our landing zone by at least thirty kilometers."

"Deploying chutes in sixty seconds," Kuvira announced. "I'm sure you can handle that much, Commander."

Korra decided, once and for all, that she _really_ hated that woman.

The lander continued to descend through the planet's atmosphere, buffeted by winds and the force of reentry. Korra looked at the fuel gauge, and whispered a prayer. They'd have enough for the final landing, but taking off again wasn't an option without finding more.

"Thirty seconds to parachute deployment."

The time ticked by, each second feeling like an hour as Korra's finger hovered over the parachute release. At the zero mark, she hit it and much to her relief it deployed. The lander rocked violently, sending Korra slamming forward against her straps and then bouncing off the back of her seat, She felt both dizzy and nauseous. Maybe Asami had been right, but she didn't have to like it.

With the ground rapidly approaching, Asami prepared herself for the landing. The parachutes were ejected, and she fired the thrusters for the last time.

"We're doing good." The words came out of Asami's mouth almost like a prayer. "We're doing good."

And then the thrusters cut out three seconds early.

**Day 162**

"I can't do anything more. Radio is completely dead." Asami pulled herself out from under the console. "We need to get to the base camp. There'll be a working radio there. Supplies. Water."

"_If_ the systems worked the way they were supposed to." Kuvira replied. "For all we know they could have failed to even make Oxygen from the base rocks."

Asami stiffened. "There's hydrogen and oxygen molecules, and the machine can make both water and air. We'll be fine."

Kuvira regarded her coldly, then sank back into her chair. "It will take at least fifteen hours on foot. We don't have enough air in the tanks for that." It seemed like she wanted to say more, but she kept silent.

Korra twisted her helmet in her hands, over and over. "We have the rover. We can load Mako onto it. Extra tanks. Even with all five of us crammed onto it we'd still make good time. Seven hours. We have enough air for nine." She pulled her helmet on and secured it. "Sato, with me. We have a small step to make, and I want to inspect the lander."

"Just a second." Asami keyed in her code, then picked up her helmet. "Rover is unloading now. Lets go."

"Right." Korra looked towards Kuvira, trying to read the expression on her face. "When we get to the base, we'll do something for Baatar."

"He knew the risks. Don't pity the dead. Pity the living if that base isn't ready." She turned away, and Korra stared at her for a few more moments.

"Commander."

At Asami's voice, Korra snapped out of it and slid down the ladder and into the airlock. She waited for Asami, then locked it.

Asami leaned her helmet against Korra's. That way she could talk to her without the radio picking it up. "I'm recording this. As soon as we make contact I'll send the data back. Everything. The accident, the landing, our first steps, the journey to the base."

"We'll figure out what happened Asami. This wasn't your fault. If anyone should take the blame, it should be me."

Pulling away, Asami just shook her head. Who's fault could it possibly be but hers?

"Jinora, you read?" Korra squeezed Asami's shoulder, before focusing on the task at hand.

"I hear you."

"Start cycling the lock."

"Anything profound to say, Leaf?"

The sound of Mako's voice immediately lifted a huge weight off of Korra's shoulders. She grinned as the hatch opened, filling the airlock with the light of a distant sun. She stared for several seconds, until she felt a nudge at her shoulder. She carefully walked down the ramp, the metal creaking underfoot.

_Something profound, something profound, something profound. Shit._

Mountains rose in the distance, and just a little closer in front of them lay a large crater, several hundred meters deep. Red sand blew in the wind, and the sky overhead was brown with a yellow tint. Whispy clouds reminded her of lazy days back home in Alaska.

Korra was reminded not of Neil Armstrong's giant leap, but of Buzz Aldrin's answer to one of Armstrong's questions. _Magnificent desolation._

Her foot stepped onto Martian soil, and then she lifted her leg, watching as the wind slowly eroded the imprint away. Lifting her eyes to the horizon, Korra moved fully onto the surface. "We walk where once we only dreamed. May the stars guide us home."


	6. Echo Base

Day 163

The buggy was overloaded, but somehow Asami made it work. Five people, extra tanks of air, extra water. Enough to get them there, enough to keep them alive for a few days, or at least long enough for her to take a solo trip back to get the rest of the supplies from the lander. That was assuming the base camp wasn't functional. Asami had faith in the build team. In the technology and the robots that had been preparing the camp for years. Her eyes trail skyward, towards where the wreck of the _Athena_ might have drifted, and her faith was shaken.

It couldn't have been the design. She couldn't let herself believe that. And they hadn't taken any shortcuts in materials and construction, no matter what Kuvira kept saying. But if the metal hadn't been forged strong enough. If there were impurities. If someone had wanted to protect the pocketbook instead of the crew….Asami couldn't get the thought out of her head. But even that couldn't explain the sudden failure at the end. It was something to think about, as she started driving the buggy with it's overloaded trailer towards the base. It was hard work. Even with all the exercise on their journey, being in gravity again was exhausting.

"Echo Base," Korra said, breaking the silence.

"I'm sorry?" Kuvira shifted, trying to get comfortable. She was jammed between a crate of air tanks and the gurney Mako was laying on.

"That's what we should call it. Mission Control always called it Mars Base, but since we're here _on_ Mars we need to be more specific. Echo Base."

"You _would_ reference a fifty year old movie, you dork," Asami said. Her mood started to lighten considerably.

"A fifty year old _classic_." They'd watched a lot of movies to kill time, but Korra had made them all watch the entire series on their journey. Twice. All three trilogies and four standalone films. In chronological order. Kuvira had declined, but Baatar had joined them the second time.

Asami felt her gut clench. She'd thought she'd seen him, tumbling through the vacuum as the lander was violently ejected from the ship. It was a sobering thought, so she focused on her driving. There wasn't much to focus on. Endless stretches of rock. She looked behind them at the trail they were leaving. It wasn't like the moon. It would eventually be blown away, as though they'd never traveled this way.

Two hours later, they found the dunes. Asami brought the buggy to a stop and peered across it. Fine sand blown into towering hills, like the Sahara writ large and stained red.

"We should go around it," Kuvira said. "If we get stuck, there isn't exactly a towing service we could call."

"The buggy is designed for this," Asami pointed out.

"Yes. Your designs are so sound and safe." Kuvira's voice was almost without inflection, though Asami thought she heard an undercurrent of anger. "If you hadn't used poor materials, if the construction hadn't been so shoddy, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Asami grit her teeth. "We sourced the best materials. The metals with the least impurities. We did everything humanly possible." A little voice in Asami's head wondered _what if Kuvira is right?_ But Jia had checked the sources. Asami had. Her _father_ had finalized everything. Somewhere in the chain there'd been a failure and Asami didn't know what would make her feel worse.

"We'll run out of air if we go around. Push it forward. If Asami says this thing won't get stuck, we won't get stuck." Korra's authority voice settled it, and Asami started the buggy again. She prayed Korra's faith in her wasn't unfounded.

There was less talking after that. Occasionally Kuvira would ask to study a particularly interesting rock formation, or Asami would need adjust something on the buggy, but otherwise they made good time.

Korra witnessed her first Martian sunset about thirty klicks from Echo Base. The sky started to turn grey, but around the sun it was as blue as any sky Korra had ever seen. She was enraptured, watching until night had fallen and not realizing that Asami had stopped until it was completely dark. Overhead, the sky was filled with stars and alien moons never before seen by human eyes. Phobos was low on the horizon, oblong and imperfectly shaped, the interplay of light and shadow producing a display of kaleidoscopic change as it moved. Nearby Deimos was not much brighter than the brightest star.

Around them, the mountains and craters were pitch black against the night sky. It was a different feeling from space-walking. It had the same infinite sky, but in some ways it struck at a primal fear. Stranded on a distant planet, surrounded by a dark landscape. No lights, no civilization. For the first time in ten thousand years, humans stood on a world virtually untouched by their hands.

"Okay," Korra said. She kept her voice quiet, out of respect for where they were. "Lets get moving again."

The lights of the buggy flicked on and the crew continued towards their new home.

Day 164

Korra wished they'd been able to wait long enough to arrive at the base in the daylight. Fumbling around with the lights on their suits and the buggy's headlights as their only guidance wasn't her idea of a good time. But from the excitement in Asami's voice, she thought that maybe they'd be all right.

"The base has power, but it's in hibernation mode to conserve energy!" Korra watched Asami bounce towards a relay. "Give me two minutes and we'll be up and running. The air storage is completely full and it'll take about that long to get all the buildings breathable. Then the filtration system will take over."

"That's good, it must mean the automation did it's work." Two minutes. Korra took a look around. The base was nothing but hulking shadows right now. Even shining her flashlight around didn't tell her much more. She could hear Asami muttering to herself over the radio, and smiled. At one minute, the lights started to come on. Spotlights on the radio tower, lights on each of the buildings. The hum and rumble of equipment coming to life.

It was nearly as bright as day in the camp with everything running. There were six buildings in total, and three towers filled with everything from radio transmitters to scientific equipment. Each building was linked by an a modular tunnel system with emergency doors that would shut in the event there was a leak in any one building or tunnel. Each building had been sent separately, and the rovers and bots that had put it all together were now hibernating in a garage with the second buggy.

"Help me inside and I'll get to work on contacting Earth," Mako said.

"I'll help too." Asami pulled Mako's arm around her shoulder.

"Jinora, check the hydroponics. Kuvira, we need to find out if the water systems worked as well as the air systems. I'll get the buggy unloaded and charged for the drive back for the rest of the supplies."

With everyone on their tasks, Korra stared to unload the buggy. The air tanks she split among each of the buildings, the water she brought over to the storage systems, and the other equipment she stacked against the main research building. Most of their personal effects were lost in the accident, but she did find a couple of backpacks that she brought over to the barracks.

The whole thing still left her confused and a little angry. They might never _have_ answers, but she'd try to see if Asami could link up to the _Athena_ and download the data from its sensors. Maybe then she could figure out what happened. There'd been a sound almost like an explosion. A sound that brought back some of Korra's worse nightmares. Had they hit a rock? For a brief, crazed moment, she wondered if they were actually as alone on Mars as they thought they were, but she dismissed the idea out of hand.

Korra stepped through the airlock, cycling it closed behind her. Suction took out most of the dust that had come with her, though the white in her suit was now forever stained pink. As soon as she had the all clear, she carefully removed her helmet. The air wasn't fresh, but it was a lot better than the air from her suit. She stripped out of it and hung it up. There were jumpsuits folded in a locker, so she picked out a blue one.

With the beeping and humming of equipment, it felt eerily like she was back on the _Athena_. Making her way to the communications room, she found Mako in a chair and Asami leaning over him.

"Any luck?"

"Not yet. Asami has the transmission ready to go, but I'm not able to link up to Earth. I think the transmitter is out of alignment."

"I'll go check on that."

Korra put a hand on Asami's shoulder before she could actually move. "Not yet. We all need a few hours to rest. Get some food in us."

Asami stared back at her, then brought her hand up to Korra's and squeezed. Mako shifted uncomfortably next to them, then coughed. "You can probably stop babying me, too."

Both women looked at him. Korra shook her head. "I'll stop babying you once Jinora gives you a full check up. In fact, she'll give all of us a full look over."

Mako's expression soured, and he changed the subject. "Do you think any of the plants actually grew?"

"That was one of my worries too. We designed the greenhouse well, I think, but we're going to need the rest of the supplies in the lander to really take advantage of it. One of the experiments we're supposed to run is to see if Martian soil can handle plant life if we add nutrients to it."

"Won't that interfere with the search for life?"

"We've kept a very good catalogue of what came with us, and the bots checked the area pretty extensively. Those experiments will take place kilometers away from here." Jinora explained as she stepped in from one of the tunnels. "Hydroponics is good! We have sixteen variety of plants, and four types of trees growing. We're not going to starve by running out of rations."

"Wish we'd brought a cow," Korra muttered. She'd forgotten what steak tasted like.

Kuvira ducked into the room. "That would have been a waste of resources."

"What's our water situation?"

"Tanks are full. I've routed water through the system and we'll have full access in all buildings within the hour. We'll be able to resupply with ease." She slowly sat down in one of the chairs and leaned forward, elbows on her knees and chin on her hands. It was the first sign of exhaustion that Korra had ever seen in her.

"So it worked. Ripping hydrogen and oxygen out of the rocks to make water!" Korra finally allowed herself to sit. As soon as she did, she realized it wouldn't be so easy to get back up. "Okay. We have food. We have water and air. Everyone get some rest. We'll figure out our radio problem in the morning, and we'll give Baatar a proper send off, too."

Kuvira closed her eyes, and only nodded.


	7. Memorials and Tombs

Day 165

There was no body to tend to, a fact which was probably fortunate since it avoided a nasty argument about if burying a body would introduce further bacterial contamination that might interfere with the search for life. Korra didn't want to worry about that right now. She was more concerned about Kuvira, who was taking all of this so well that she had to be compartmentalizing it. It was what Korra would have done. Put it away. Deal with it later. Or never.

The memorial was simple. Baatar's name carved into a piece of bulkhead, a spare mission patch glued beneath the letters. Korra invited Kuvira to say a few words, but the other woman just glared at her. So she cleared her throat, and tried to talk about the man who'd helped them get this far and given his life in the process. The ceremony ended with Jinora giving a prayer. Asami wasn't particularly religious, but she thought it was a nice touch.

Kuvira waited until the end, then stood. "I have work to do."

Korra watched her go, jutting out her jaw. She turned to Mako. "Get back to fixing communications. That's your number one priority. Eat, drink and sleep it."

He saluted smartly, then followed Kuvira out.

"I want to look at some of the results from our recon rovers," Jinora said, rubbing her hands on her pants. "I think they might have found an underground lake."

"If they did, that's fantastic news."

Jinora squeezed Korra's shoulder. "I'll let you know as soon as I know anything."

"Underground water would be _huge_." Asami leaned against the bulkhead, her eyes on Korra. "For both survival, and the chances of finding life."

Eyes still focused on the doorway, Korra just nodded. A frown crossed Asami's lips, and she stepped closer.

Slipping her arms around her lover, Asami asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

She turned Korra's face towards her own. "Liar. You can talk to me."

Korra worked her jaw. "What kind of person just shuts down their emotions like that?"

"A survivor. Someone who can focus on the mission. Just because she's bottling it up now doesn't mean that she's not feeling anything." Asami stroked Korra's cheek. "What would you do, in her place? If you lost me. Or if we'd lost Mako."

"I don't want to think about that."

"You have to, you're the Commander."

She lowered her head, her eyes focusing on the nametag above Asami's left breast. She did have to think about it. And she _had_ thought about it. Constantly. "Buried myself in work until it stopped hurting. Focus on the mission. Figure out what happened."

If Asami lost Korra, she knew she'd do the same thing. Once the mission was over, once they were back on Earth, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. Korra had wormed her way into her heart. She watched Korra turn around and walk out of the makeshift memorial, and wondered if both those women were made of stronger stuff than she was.

Day 169

Korra was pretty sure she'd had plans today. Kuvira and Jinora were going to set up a sonar array near a promising site, and she'd planned to help Mako and Asami get the communications up and running. Every time it seemed like they had a promising solution, it hadn't worked, or something else had broken down.

"Hey, I'm here to help." But her plans had gone completely out the window as she stepped into the command center to find a very shapely rear end sticking out from under one of the consoles. She bit her lips as Asami pulled herself to her feet. Her hair was askew, and grease was smeared on her left cheek and forehead. She had her jumpsuit unzipped, the top tied around her waist leaving her torso clad only in a sports bra. It gave Korra a great view of toned abs, marred only by additional smudges of grease.

As if that wasn't enough, Asami had gotten some on her chest, too.

"Hey, Commander." Asami smiled, cleaning her hands on a cloth. The next thing she knew, Korra had closed the distance in a blur and she was being lifted onto the console.

"This is helping?" The words came out more like a keening whine as Korra pushed her bra up.

"I can stop?"

"Don't you even dare!" Asami squirmed, tangling her fingers in Korra's hair.

Korra laughed at the desperation in Asami's voice. She muffled her with a kiss, letting her hands trail down into her jumpsuit.

A sound caused both women to freeze.

Just outside the door, Jinora reached for the handle. Mako grabbed her shoulder and guided her away. "The Commander is busy. Why don't you give me the run down and I'll pass it along to her."

"Remind me to...ahh…thank..." Asami trailed off, and Korra just grinned against her skin.

Asami was pretty sure she'd had plans today, too. But Korra had completely changed that. She leaned back, careful to avoid hitting anything important, gazing down at Korra as her breathing became more and more ragged. How could this woman be this amazing and this consistently surprising? She pushed at Korra's jumpsuit until the woman got the idea and shrugged out of the top of it.

Pulling Korra back up into a kiss, Asami splayed her hands on her back and shoulders. A network of scars ran from Korra's lower back up towards her right shoulder. They'd become increasingly familiar to Asami. Though Korra had yet to open up about them, she did seem to enjoy it when Asami traced them. She dug her fingers in, leaving red trails in Korra's skin, demanding kisses the only thing keeping her quiet.

Korra broke the kiss as Asami clung to her. Coming down off of her high, she nuzzled at Korra's neck, not trusting herself to speak. The terrifying realization that she was in _love with Korra_ had suddenly taken hold of her.

She felt her lover start to pull away, and almost as quickly as Korra had pounced on her, Asami had her face first against the bulkhead.

It wasn't always the scars that drew Asami in. She ran her fingers up Korra's back, kissing one shoulder blade, then the other. She moved her lips to Korra's neck. Korra melted into Asami's grasp, tilting her head back and reaching behind herself to dig her fingers into Asami's hair.

She laughed, squirming as Asami's fingers explored the expanse of her back. "I guess I deserve this."

"Mm."

"I couldn't help myself, you looked so sexy."

"There are days where all I want to do is this." Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's midsection, then dragged her nails across her stomach. "It's distracting. You're distracting.."

Korra's voice shifted a few pitches higher as her legs threatened to betray her and buckle. "I'm not sorry?"

"Do you want me to stop?" Asami's hands stilled, tantalizingly close to Korra's waistband.

Korra attempted to summon up some command authority but her words only came out like a plea. "No, no keep going."

Pushing Korra against a bulkhead, Asami ran her tongue along the widest scar on her back just as she pushed her hand into Korra's pants.

Kuvira swung the door open, "Christ." She turned right around, slamming the door shut behind her.

Red faced, Asami buried her face in Korra's hair. "Maybe we should have taken this to one of our bunks."

Day 172

The readout was a little fuzzy at first, but with every ping the picture got clearer and clearer. A vast network of caverns, stretching hundreds of miles, and what looked like underground river and lake beds. Korra leaned in, tracing one of the riverbeds with a finger. "Think there's actually water there?"

"I believe so."

"So how do we prove it? Without causing any damage."

Jinora rubbed her chin in a manner strikingly similar to her father. "We could do a core drill. That will give us rock samples as well. The caverns are large enough to have a water cycle and possibly even a weather system and if we don't plug the hole correctly we could risk permanently damaging that. And we'd have to be careful not to contaminate it. We don't want to cause any false positives for life."

"Do you think it might be drinkable?"

"I'm sure it is. But if there's life in it, then we have something a lot more important to think about."

"And pop champagne over," Asami replied. She took a seat next to Korra. "Kuvira and I have prepared a drill. We'll be able to drill down and seal the opening on the way back up."

"You're amazing." Korra planted a kiss on Asami's cheek. "Think you and Mako can hold down the fort?"

Asami nudged Korra's shoulder. "On the condition I get to go with you next time."

"Mako needs your help establishing contact with Mission Control," Korra pointed out. She couldn't resist the urge to stroke her fingers through Asami's hair. Almost as if soothing any potential ruffled feathers.

"I know, that's why I'm not too grumpy about it." She leaned her forehead against Korra's. "Be safe. I'll see you when you get back."

"We'll check in periodically. I'll need to hear your voice if I'm going to be dealing with Kuvira all day."

Asami rolled her eyes, and shoved Korra towards the airlocks.

"So what kind of life do you think we'd find, if we found any? It would be cool if we found some kind of plant or fish or something." Korra was perched in the passenger seat of the Rover, turned to face Jinora in the back.

"Some kind of bacteria is the most likely. Probably nothing bigger than that. What I'm curious about is how close to life on Earth it'll look like. What kind of DNA it has. It could prove the theory about stellar seeding. We have living examples of bacteria that can survive in a vacuum, or deep under a glacier where there's no sun."

"So how will we know if it's something that originated on Mars, or somehow came to Earth?"

Jinora smirked, leaning forward and replying, "How do we know that life on Earth didn't originate on Mars? Or Europa, or even in this solar system?"

"There's no point in debating hypotheticals until we know if there's even anything down there." Kuvira brought the rover to a stop.

"Echo base, you getting us?" Korra hopped out of the rover, walking around to help Jinora unload the drill.

Mako's voice rang in her ear. "Loud and clear. Visual looks good too."

"Good, hopefully but the time you get in contact with Earth we'll have something really awesome to show them."

"Like watching drilling is going to be exciting?" The man laughed.

As long as Asami was watching Korra, anything would be exciting.

"You've got it bad," he commented, turning back to the communication console.

Asami's lack of an answer was the only confirmation he needed.

At the drill sight, Kuvira was razor focused on the task at hand. It was slow going, between how hard the rock was and how careful they were being. "Distance?"

Jinora checked the read out. "Another twenty meters and we should breach the cavern."

"Another ten minutes and we can start pulling up the core samples. And a water sample."

"We'll have a visual too," Kuvira reminded them.

Korra nodded, lifting her head to take in the landscape around them, not for the first time. Hills leading into mountains. They stood on a plane at the base of one rocky area, almost on the equator. "We picked a good spot for a sample. Maybe we'll get some clues as to why the Northern hemisphere is so much smoother than the rest of the planet."

"Crust is a lot thinner, too." Kuvira brought the drill to a stop. "It could have been an impact with another large body or several smaller bodies in close succession. Or something went wrong with the plate tectonics. I doubt we'll figure it out this trip. Or the next."

She nodded her head at Jinora. "Start bringing up the samples."

No longer needed to help steady the drill, Korra picked up a flashlight and started to move towards a shadow in a rock face. As she got closer, she realized it was a crevice, twice as tall as her and just a little wider. "Hey guys? When you're done there, I want to bring the sonar over here. I think I found a way in." Korra wondered if they had climbing equipment. She didn't want to get too close without knowing if there'd be a sudden drop.

"Asami, think you could rig up something for-" She shined her light into the crevice, and the world suddenly rocked around her. The ground under her feet crumbled, and she disappeared into darkness.


	8. The Longest Day

Day 172

Alarms blared, making Asami's ears ring, but she couldn't focus on anything but Korra. She screamed Korra's name as the Commander disappeared into the ground. She lost her own balance as the quake rippled through the base, landing hard on her back as equipment fell over all around her. Gripping the console, she grabbed for the comm. "Korra! _Korra!_ Can you hear me!"

Mars was shaking all around her but her world was black around the edges and focused on Korra and Korra alone.

She realized the shaking had stopped when Mako's voice broke through to her. "We had a breach in the bunks, but the emergency bulkheads closed. We'll need to get a look at the damage."

"What about Korra?" Asami checked the radios, the view through the buggy's camera's flickering and full of static. She sounded no more calm than she felt, her voice strained with worry. "Echo Base to expedition team, are you all right? What's your status? Does anyone see Korra?" Her heart raced, and her fingers felt like they were numb. The room spun a little and she had to fight the urge to vomit.

It felt like an eternity before Kuvira responded. Her voice was barely distinguishable in the static. "Negative. The quake opened a sinkhole. We're returning to base."

Asami looked at Mako, helplessly, then turned back to the radio. "Not without the Commander, you're not!"

She could barely make out Kuvira's words. "It's too dangerous. The rock is unstable."

Lifting a headset to his ears, Mako said sharply. "I'm ordering you to stay put. The buggy should have everything you need to rescue Korra."

"If she's unconscious or dead, she won't be able to assist in her own rescue."

Asami wanted to throttle Kuvira. "If I have to come down there myself-"

"I'm light," Jinora cut in. "You can lower me down, I can secure a rope to her suit, and then you can use the winch on the buggy to pull us out."

"Okay," Kuvira said, after a long, staticy silence that seemed to stretch on too long for Asami's liking. "I'm going to hook you to the buggy. Then you need to get as close as you can to see if you can see the Commander."

"Roger."

Asami felt a hand on her shoulder. She didn't look up at Mako,but she did bring her own hand up to rest over his while trying to see anything through the static.

Mako's voice startled her. "Can you do anything about the static?"

"I've tried, I think the quake damaged the transmitter."

"I'll go check it out. Keep me posted?" Their eyes met, and Asami nodded.

"I will, be careful."

Korra's head was ringing, and her breaths came in short, ragged bursts. Her hands hurt, her arms ached, but if she relaxed even a little bit she would lose her grip and fall. Ten meters above her head was the crack she'd fallen into, but below her was completely dark. She would - probably - fall into water, but the risk was too great. She carefully pulled herself up, swinging her legs until she found purchase with them. The load taken off of her arms was a huge relief. Korra closed her eyes, catching her breath, and listening for any possible leaks in her suit.

Once she was satisfied nothing had been torn, she called out. "Can anyone read me? Kuvira? Echo Base?"

Only dead air greeted her. She suppressed a groan, and looked around for a way to climb back up. Nearby, some of the rock crumbled. If an aftershock hit, she knew it would all collapse. "I guess the Mars being seismically active theory is right." A marsquake. Two weeks on Mars and they get a marsquake. Who'd have bet on _those_ odds?

Her flashlight dangled by a line to her belt, and she cautiously pulled it up. Flicking it back on, she tried to get her bearings. The crevice was increasingly narrow above her, with precious few safe looking hand holds. Below her, the light could just barely illuminate something that looked like fast-moving water. It was maybe fifteen meters down. Despite her situation, she laughed giddily. Water! Liquid, moving water! For a moment she almost forgot her situation.

Several pebbles bounced off of her helmet, and she looked up again. A figure stood at the edge of the crevice, and Korra waggled her flash light. A light flashed back. Korra shifted around, trying to find better purchase while she waited for a rope. "If you can hear me, be careful. We don't need to have two of us down here, and it's still a long drop to the water."

Knowing her luck, it would be shallow and that would be the end of that. She looked up again, just in time to see the figure lose her balance and topple in. Korra reacted instinctively, swinging one hand out and catching her would-be rescuer by the arm. The strain sent a burning sensation throughout her arms and for a brief, horrifying moment, she nearly lost her grip. Her muscles screamed and she cursed vividly. Opening her eyes, Korra caught a glimpse of Jinora's terrified face as they hung there together. She was shouting something, and through their helmets and the thin air, Korra thought she heard a warning.

Korra looked up in time to see the drilling rig falling towards them. She swung Jinora clear, and then let go of the rock. Gravity seemed to take a second to kick in as the rig smashed into the spot they'd just been. Korra reached out blindly with her free hand, praying for something to grab onto. The darkness swallowed them up.

They'd completely lost contact with the expedition team, and Asami had taken to pacing. She refused to believe that they'd survived everything else only to lose Korra to a marsquake, and there was little for her to do until Mako got the transmitter up and running. She'd suited up to help him when he came in and set his helmet on a console.

"Mako, what's it look like?"

"The transmitter toppled over. I got it upright, but one of the wires is cut."

Blood ran cold in Asami's veins. "_Cut._."

"Specifically, one of the wires leading to the transmitter that's supposed to sync up with Earth. It was cut, and then spliced together to look like it was still functional." He dropped the offending wire into Asami's hand. "That's why we didn't catch it until now."

The wire looked normal, but she held it up to the light and could see that there was a hidden gap. "The radio worked for years before we got here." The implication was sickening. She knew she didn't do it. She knew (trusted, believed) that Korra wouldn't do it. The thought of Jinora or Mako doing it nearly made her nauseous. And by process of elimination...

"We're up and running whenever you're ready to transmit."

Asami set down the wire, turning towards her console. "I'm going to send them bursts of everything we have from the accident, the landing, and what we've discovered so far. I've had all of that prepared and ready to go. Earth will know we're viable, and that Baatar is dead... but Mako… someone sabotaged this mission, and there's no way they could have worked alone."

Mako nodded, folding his arms and looking at the stream of data that was being transmitted. The odds were good that Baatar and Kuvira had been working together. "All the structural issues. The damage to Korra's suit. The sudden hull failure. Sabotaged transmitters. _Why_?"

What if her father's company _hadn't_ used the best materials? It was a terrible thought, but Kuvira's constant picking on the concept had managed to worm it's way into Asami's heart. What if there had been flaws covered up, or intentional sabotage to the ship? Was someone in her father's company complicit in this? Asami wanted to dismiss the thought out of hand. "There were… a lot of voices back on Earth who thought that the money and resources for the mission would be better spent in the post-war rebuilding efforts. And investors who thought that more money would be made in resupplying arms and stirring another war. This mission being a failure would prove them right. Spun right, it could prompt a new conflict."

"But what would Kuvira and Baatar get out of it?"

"I don't know, hail the conquering heros?" Asami couldn't keep the worry or the derision out of her voice. The feed from the buggy had gone dead. "One of them damaged Korra's suit, I'm certain of it. Kuvira has always been against Korra being in command, and she's ambitious. It almost feels _personal_."

"Korra dies. Kuvira takes command, saves the mission. But how does that play into your theory?"

"It doesn't. That's the problem. I don't know if that's a relief or not. The success of this mission would be a huge boon to dozens of companies and economies."

"But the failure could start another war."

"Failure could ruin my family's company, unless the conspirators were angling to get it back into the arms race. Or they're specifically trying to ruin it." There were a hundred questions in her mind, but right now, she didn't really care. "We can worry about this later. Korra's in danger. We have to _do_ something."

The man opened his mouth to suggest that Korra might not even be alive, but then decided better. It wasn't an outcome he wanted to think about either, and voicing it might make it actually be true. "I'll take the other buggy. Lock the base down until we get back."

It was a long wait. Asami tapped her fingers impatiently. She wouldn't know for another several minutes if Earth was receiving her data. With a time delay of about fifteen minutes, two-way communication was going to be a pain. She needed to relay a message to Jia to not trust anyone. She needed her father to know she was okay. Mako wasn't responding either, and the silence was making Asami paranoid.

A noise behind her caused her to move, and she deflected something hard and metal just before it connected with her head. The impact knocked her out of her chair, and she rolled out of the way as a wrench slammed into the floor plating near her head.

Lashing out with one foot, she managed to topple her attacker, jumping to her feet and running out of the control room. She glanced behind her; Kuvira was quickly catching up.

Reaching the connecting tunnel between the hydroponics building and the control center, Asami turned and lifted her fists. Kuvira studied her with a blank expression, before falling into a ready stance. "You shouldn't have come on this mission. Everything would have gone a lot smoother without you."

"What, so you'd have killed Korra and taken all the credit in the wake of tragedy? None of this makes any _sense_."

Kuvira's fist snapped out, followed by a quick flurry of blows that Asami struggled to keep up with. Even with her self-defense training, she wasn't a hardened soldier like Kuvira had been before the mission. Kuvira started landing more blows than Asami could block or deflect. She got a good hit in before Kuvira knocked her flat. A hand grabbed the back of her suit collar and Kuvira started to drag her towards an airlock.

"Every time you repaired and reported weaknesses, we had to change our plans." She stopped in the airlock, and forced a helmet onto Asami's suit. Asami tried to pull herself to her feet, and Kuvira kicked them out from under her. "Your father didn't want you hurt."

"...what?" Asami blinked tears out of her eyes as Kuvira's face loomed over her. She could barely process what she was hearing. "My father?"

"Overcoming adversity," Kuvira said. Her calmness was almost maddening. "In the face of tragedy. Great publicity for him, and at a savings in materials costs. We spin this right, and it brings the world together. And then I'll get to come back, in a better ship, with a crew of my own choosing."

The airlock cycled, and she shoved Asami out into the Martian sunlight. It was almost immediately apparent that Asami's suit wasn't sealed properly, the hissing of escaping air and a painful swelling in her body the most obvious signs. Kuvira wrapped her arm around Asami's throat, holding her still. "I only wish she got to watch you die."

She clawed weakly at Kuvira's arm. "Sounds...personal."

"Not really." Kuvira squeezed tighter. Asami thought she saw a blue and white suit in the distance before she passed out.


	9. Belonging

Day 172

Korra slammed into Kuvira, sending all three women sprawling. Asami rolled to a stop nearby, but before Korra could check on her, Kuvira had gotten back to her feet. Korra blocked a knee to her gut, but her head snapped back as Kuvira struck at her face. The impact was so jarring that a crack formed across her field of view. She ducked under the next swing, ramming her shoulder into Kuvira and pushing her against the outer wall of the barracks. She got several punches into Kuvira's ribs before the taller woman shoved her back.

Kuvira stood ready, her eyes narrowed as she studied Korra's stance. "You're difficult to kill."

"Call me lucky." Korra shrugged.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kuvira saw a yellow and white suit pulling Asami towards a building. "You're probably too late for her. That makes us even. "

Hands curled into fists so tight that it hurt, Korra stood her ground. She trusted Jinora to help Asami, so she focused her full attention on Kuvira. Part of her wanted to pound Kuvira into the Martian dust. Her lips formed into a thin line, but she didn't let herself rise to the bait. But she wasn't above baiting Kuvira back. "I'm not sure how even we really are. Did you ever cry for Baatar? Or was he just a means to an end."

Kuvira feinted left. Korra dodged right, taking a fist into her chest. She landed on her back and rolled quickly to her feet. Kuvira didn't let up, keeping her opponent on the defensive as a stiff wind began to kick up dust around them.

"Why?" She finally asked, in a moment when both women were catching their breaths. "Why all this? Why sabotage the mission? Just so you could get the glory?" It had all clicked the moment that Jinora had been pushed into the crevice. The explosion had sounded so much like the rocket that had shot her down during the war, the other hints and clues that had made her suspicious. Kuvira complaining about her, and/or the mission. And Korra _needed_ to know why. "Never pegged you for a glory hound."

Kuvira just stared at her for a long, hard moment. Red sand blew around, bringing visibility to just a few meters. Kuvira's lip curled, and there was thinly veiled contempt in the woman's voice with an undercurrent of anger that sent a chill down Korra's spine. "You don't remember."

"Clearly." Finally seeing Kuvira riled up over _anything_ was a small victory in itself. Korra pressed the advantage, darting into Kuvira's reach. She punched her in the chest, open palm, and followed it up by sweeping Kuvira's fight out from under her. Kuvira rolled away, hands grasping for a rock. She smashed it against the side of Korra's helmet and more cracks spider-webbed across her visor. The wind was howling now. If the God of War had hounds they were surely nipping at their heels.

"Eight years ago." Kuvira kicked Korra away. She had to scream to be heard above the sandstorm. "You were shot down. Tortured! The information you gave away cost me my entire squadron. You never deserved this mission! Our countries were _allies_ and you sold us out!"

Head ringing, Korra pulled herself to her feet. Sand was getting inside her helmet, little granules pushing through the cracks as air hissed faster and faster. "I didn't _break_, Kuvira. The only thing they got out of me was crap I made up about Star Wars."

Kuvira charged again. Korra blocked a punch, deflected another one, and dodged out of the way of a kick. There wasn't much time left. Between the storm stripping their suits off and the air leaking out, Korra had to end this fight, and end it soon. Spotting an opening, she ducked under Kuvira's strike and tackled her. They landed, Kuvira on her back and Korra straddling her as Korra took Kuvira's head and beat it against the ground. Kuvira grappled with Korra, flipping them around and pressing her forearm under Korra's neck. She stared at Kuvira's face as Martian sand blotted out the sky.

Kuvira pressed harder. "Admit it! Admit it! They broke you!"

Korra grasped at Kuvira's arm, tugging hard at it as images and memories assailed her. Her fingernails ached. Old scars protested as voices screamed at her in Russian and Korra screamed back.

She kicked Kuvira off, scrambling to her feet and grasping for something to use as a weapon. Her hand closed around a segment of pipe that had gotten dislodged in the quake, and she swung it hard at Kuvira's head.

She sagged heavily against a wall once she was sure Kuvira was out. Her voice shook, tears carving rivers through the dust on her face. "You were right. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear? Are you _happy_? I'm _sorry_!"

Day 174

Asami felt as though she were drifting through space. Her body was weightless, and there was no sound. Once, she thought she heard something. Thought she saw a light at the peripheral of her vision, but when she turned to look it had faded away.

When the light came back, so did sensation. Feeling gradually returned to her limbs. Warmth. A dull ache. Asami opened her eyes. The ceiling of the medical bay greeted her, and she carefully turned her head to get her bearings. She was alone.

She carefully sat up and swung her legs off of the bed. Everything seemed to be in working order. She was wearing a simple top and boxer briefs and she felt a mild sense of embarrassment. Once she was certain she could walk, she found a jumpsuit, dressed, and made her way towards the command center.

"Hello?"

"Asami!" Powerful arms smothered her in a hug and lifted her into the air. Korra nuzzled her, then put her back down. "You're awake! I was so worried."

"Are Mako and Jinora okay?" She was beyond relieved that Korra was okay, but she didn't see the others. "What happened to Kuvira?"

"They're fine. They're trying to recover the drilling rig." Korra's expression hardened. "We have Kuvira locked up in the storage room."

"Kuvira, she sabotaged…"

"I know."

Asami's mouth was dry. "She said my father…"

Korra sat down, and gently pulled Asami into her lap. "We're still trying to figure out the particulars. She had it in for me from the start." Absently, and without really thinking about it, she started to trace nervous patterns in Asami's skin.

"And she said it wasn't personal." Asami snorted, resting her head on Korra's shoulder. "You didn't answer my question."

"That's because we don't know everything yet. The last word we had from Jia was that he's being charged with skimming millions, mostly from government contributions. Kuvira still hasn't talked. She's in on it, but we don't know how much or what your father wanted her to do. She has a lot to answer for when she gets back to Earth."

Asami closed her eyes. "So all of this for money? Doom the mission, doom us, set our whole species back _decades_, for money?"

"Shh.." Korra rested her hand on Asami's waist, and rubbed lightly. "We don't know that. We've proved a lot. This mission isn't over, and it's not a failure. Varrick says that he even knows how to spin this into a positive."

"Do you believe that?" Asami lifted her head, and looked into Korra's eyes. "That this can turn into a positive."

Korra answered without hesitation. "Yeah, I do." She wet her lips, then turned her head, cheeks flushing red. "I'm sorry I wasn't in there when you woke up. I wanted to be, but I had to do a few things for the next transmission."

"Next time I'll make sure to wait for you to get back." Asami turned Korra's face back towards her. "Korra, there's something I need to tell you."

"You're pregnant?"

She rolled her eyes, and slipped off of Korra's lap. "I'm being serious." She hugged herself, not quite able to look in Korra's direction. "And this should probably wait, but God only knows if something else will happen. When I thought I'd lost you I realized I couldn't see my life without you anymore. I didn't _want_ to." She was stumbling over her words, rushing to get them out before she lost her courage. "You mean _so_ much to me."

"I love you."

Korra's words brought Asami's rambling to a sudden and abrupt halt. Wide eyed and speechless, she could only stare as Korra took her hands and brought them to her lips. "I have for awhile now. And you're right, something else could happen and maybe I'd never get a chance to tell you." She let go of Asami's hands, bring her fingers up to wipe at her face. "You're crying…"

"I'm trying to give you a dramatic speech and you just blurt that out." Asami smiled through her tears. "I love you too."

Korra pulled her down into a kiss, her arms holding Asami as close as she could get away with. Asami broke the kiss after several moments. "Are you okay, though? Kuvira, did she hurt you? How did you survive the fall?"

"That's… I'm okay. A little bruised and battered, but I'm okay. Lucky for us, Jinora's tether caught in the crevice." Kuvira had dredged up a lot of old memories and guilt, things that she'd happily let herself forgot. A part of her didn't want to tell Asami. She feared being judged. But Asami wasn't the kind of person to judge. She'd listen. Maybe she'd even understand. The debate raged in her head and she fell silent.

"There's something you're not telling me." Asami put a finger over Korra's mouth when she opened it to say something. "It's okay. Tell me when you're ready. I'll listen."

"I'll tell you. I promise. I think… I think I _need_ to. Just not today."

Jinora and Mako returned a few hours later. Jinora had a spring in her step, and she greeted Asami before disappearing into her lab.

"What's her hurry?"

"She's been antsy about the results from her tests," Mako explained, after giving Asami a stiff hug. "She's really hopeful about what she'll find."

"It could change everything," Asami said.

Today was a good day, Korra decided. Asami was awake, they'd stumbled but openly admitted how they actually felt. She pulled away from Asami and walked over to a cabinet. She unlocked it, and carefully pulled out a bag. "It amazes me that this survived the landing, you know."

Mako reached inside the bag, and pulled out a bottle. "Isn't it a little premature?"

Someone cleared their voice, and all three turned to see Jinora standing in the doorway. She bounced on her heels, then burst into a gigantic grin. "Do you want to come see it? Our martian bacteria? I mean, we have to confirm it with independent studies when we get home, but I'm one-hundred percent sure it's native to Mars!"

Korra felt light on her feet. She grabbed the bottle from Mako and rushed past Jinora, letting out an excited woop.

"Home," Asami murmured. She wondered if she even wanted to go back. She didn't want to face her father, and there was work to do. Prepare the base for more people. Convince people that it was safe, and that they needed a bigger staff. Her mind started working overtime. Maybe they needed to keep proving it.

"What's on your mind?"

"Just thinking about what's next."

"The next mission?" Mako raised one eyebrow. "Do you think people will want to come still? After all this?"

"We'll _make_ them want to come." Picking up some glasses, Asami nodded her head in the direction of the lab before hurriedly walking after Korra. The idea of seeing whatever it was Jinora had found was exciting. "What could be more fun than living on an alien world and discovering new life?"

Day 200

"...and there won't be much room once supplies are offloaded." Jia leaned closer to the monitor, as if by doing so she could see the crew. "You'll be able to fit three of you for the return trip. Four if you want to push it. The others will have to stay behind, for as long as a year. Maybe more. We'll be able to send you the supplies you'll need. And probably a new collection of movies and music."

An energetic man pushed Jia out of the way, and Asami sighed as Varrick's face loomed on the screen. "If you have enough fuel, and if the lander is air tight, then it'll be a snap." He snapped his fingers, the sound ringing in Asami's ears. "But even then just getting into orbit is gonna be a doozy!"

"We'll send you the telemetry data after this broadcast." The voice belonged to Zhu Li, and it was a voice that Korra was happy to hear. She wondered how things would have gone if she hadn't needed to be replaced. "It will help you run your own simulations. By the time the _Artemis_ arrives, we should have the entire return trip planned out."

"Cobbled her together from spare parts! Found a whole _warehouse_ full of them! When you bring her back, we'll build her better. Hey!"

It was Jia who was doing the shoving this time. "We think we'll have enough support for a proper follow-up mission. For those of you who don't come back on the Artemis, the _Demeter_ will bring you a replacement crew, and then take you home. Mission Control, out."

Mako was silent as he stared at the now empty screen. He didn't have to look at Korra to know what she was going to say. He could already guess. "Someone needs to keep an eye on Kuvira."

"I'm staying." Asami lifted her head, as if daring anyone to talk her out of it.

Korra looked around at everyone. It was her mission, her orders. She knew she had to stay. She couldn't ask anyone to do something she wouldn't do herself. And she knew Mako would be disappointed if he missed his niece or nephew. "Jinora goes, Mako goes. Kuvira goes."

"I want to stay." Jinora looked at Korra pleadingly. "There's so much more for me to discover."

"Your dad would kill me."

"My dad would have to fly a hundred million kilometers to kill you."

"Jinora." Asami put an arm around the younger woman. "We need people on Earth who've been through the things we have. You've seen Mars first hand. You can help get people excited about Mars. About your discoveries here. And you'll need to defend them from naysayers and denialists."

Jinora's shoulders fell, but she nodded, a determined look settling in her eyes. "Okay. But then we're coming back. Right, Mako?"

"Right." Mako looked at Korra, working his jaw. Even though it would be months before he left, he felt like this was already the end. "That'll be an even longer wait for you two."

'We'll be fine. Especially when you come back." Korra said. Her smile was infectious, her eyes gleaming. "We're exactly where we belong."


	10. Epilogue

**December, 2135 - Korra City, Mars**

The celebration was in full swing. Banners and flags hung from every available surface and music played over loudspeakers. Far overhead, a lattice-like structure allowed the light of the sun to filter through. WIth a near -earth atmosphere within the colony, the sky was almost blue. A young Chinese woman, newly arrived, took in the view. There were nearly three-thousand people in this city. And they were building another city a thousand kilometers away, named after the woman who discovered life on Mars. She wondered what that would look like, with the lessons learned from building Korra City.

Looking down from the sky, she continued her area she was in was like a park, an open area (or at least as open as you could get on the Red Planet). There weren't many people strolling about, most were at the celebrations. At the center of the park were a pair of statues. Each three meters tall, cast from Martian steel. Both were women, wearing old style space suits, determined looks on their faces as they gazed off towards destinations unknown.

A old man's voice startled her. "They fell in love, you know. On the way here. It was such a long and dangerous journey then. They went through so much, and they made all of this possible. They had so much _passion_."

She couldn't tell how old he was. Life on Mars did funny things to the aging process. People got taller, but it was a hard life, especially in the early years. She tilted her head towards the statue. "Did you know them?"

"Oh. Yes I did. I was born here. I remember… Korra. She was so full of _energy_. She inspired everyone to be better than they were. Like she was the heart of this city. And her wife Asami was it's mind." He gestured up at the lattice overhead. "She came up with that. It helps keep us from feeling too claustrophobic. She had help of course. Others who came. Their friends. People they inspired. Even my own parents."

Turning back to the statues, she clasped her hands behind her back. "The orientation booklet didn't talk much about them. What they did, yes, but not what they were like."

"Come with me." He held out his arm for her to take, and continued to talk as they walked. "Korra liked to play pranks. Nothing dangerous, but she kept us on our toes. We were all a family, then. There were maybe two hundred people when I was born. Six hundred by the time I was twenty. But we were a family. I think.. I _like_ to think that they viewed us all as their children. Asami was obsessed with our safety. She put together a team that came up with all sorts of new ways to keep us safe but let us expand at the same time."

He led her closer to the edge of the city. Behind some of the buildings was a small plot. It looked like a cemetery, though there were few graves. "We cremate our dead. But sometimes, we make an exception."

A monument, no larger than a meter in height, stood in the center of the plot. Carved into the front was a stylized shield with a silhouette of a space ship over it. In front of the monument were two graves.

The man's voice caught as he spoke. "They never left. They were here until the day they died, building this colony with their bare hands."

There was a plaque, and it read;

**Korra Sato  
b. April 12, 2006  
d. Sept. 23, 2071  
First Human on Mars**

**Asami Sato  
b. Dec. 21, 2005  
d. April 14, 2072  
Founder of Korra City**

**May the stars guide them home.**


End file.
